Reply to Helmut's poem, below:

You may say it is shell hell, but
I enjoy all your notes, Helmut
By e-mail, not phones
We share interests in cones
To get into one it quells the rut

And

All of our Conch- Listers
It wouldn;t even involve getting blisters
to go (where there are no pesky no-seums)
To the Innsbruck Museum
Curated by Mr. Nisters.

Going by air and by rail
I'll get there without fail
To see cones and cyps
With fine lips
And many an interesting land snail.

On Thu, 24 Jun 1999, Helmut Nisters wrote:

> Dear Art,
>
> what shall I do. We don't have a cat, but an New Guinea Pig and some
> living landshells. They can eat pater.  But I don't print it out.
>
> Here is another well come poem.
>
> Some Cones and Cypraeas and other shell
> would place in Helmuts collection well.
> For some collectors it's the hell,
> when Helmut is asking for a shell.
>
> with best regards and enjoy this self invented joke-poem
>
> Helmut
>
>
> Helmut Nisters
> Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
> A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
> phone and fax: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> url: www.netwing.at/nisters/
>
> or
>
> Natural History Department of the
> Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
> malacological collection
> Feldstr. 11a
> A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
> phone: 0043 / 512 / 58 72 86-37
>
> ----------
> This is your offishul COA Convention Welcome Poem. If you don't like it,
> print it out, tear into small pieces, and mix with cat food.
>                 THE PECTEN
>         The Pecten, one would theorize,
>         Perceives the world through many eyes.
>         He zips about, this way and that;
>         A ploy to keep from getting fat.
>                         Art
>